visitor attraction trends in england 2015...attractions reported a 2% annual increase in total...

Full Report

Visitor Attraction Trends in England 2015

Acknowledgements

1

VisitEngland would like to thank all representatives and operators in the attraction sector who provided information for the national survey on which this report is based. For a number of attractions, data has been included with kind permission of ALVA (Association of Leading Visitor Attractions), English Heritage and The National Trust as well as several Destination Management Organisations, councils and museum / attraction groups. Where relevant this has been referenced in the report.

No part of this publication may be reproduced for commercial purposes without previous written consent of VisitEngland. Extracts may be quoted if the source is acknowledged.

Statistics in this report are given in good faith on the basis of information provided by proprietors of attractions and relevant organisations. VisitEngland regrets it cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information contained in this report nor accept responsibility for error or misrepresentation.

Published by VisitEngland (incorporated under the 1969 Development of Tourism Act as the British Tourist Authority) © 2015 British Tourist Authority (trading as VisitBritain).

VisitEngland is grateful to Historic England for their financial support for the 2015 survey.

July 2016

IntroductionThis report presents the findings of the Survey of

Visits to Visitor Attractions undertaken in England

by VisitEngland. The report provides a

comprehensive England-wide analysis of trends

plus visits data for individual attractions.

Objectives

To monitor trends in the visitor attraction sector in

England and to improve understanding of the

dynamics of the sector. Findings contribute to

estimates of the economic impact of tourism and

inform development and planning work. Results

allow operators to benchmark their operation

within their category, within their region and across

the sector as a whole.

Survey Method

Attractions have the option of either online or

postal survey completion.

All attractions for whom email contacts are held are

sent an email invitation with a link to their

attraction’s online questionnaire. Attractions not

responding are subsequently sent a postal

questionnaire alongside attractions with no or only

generic email contacts.

A copy of the questionnaire is appended.

BDRC Continental holds the contract for the survey in England and is responsible for the preparation of this report.

It is important to highlight that major individual attractions can have a significant impact upon the proportion of visits within each region and attraction category. Their participation or non-participation in the survey year-on-year can result in significant fluctuations in the data within each region and attraction category.

Visitor Attraction Definition

“…an attraction where it is feasible to charge admission for the sole purpose of sightseeing. The attraction must be a permanently established excursion destination, a primary purpose of which is to allow access for entertainment, interest, or education and can include places of worship (but excludes small parish churches); rather than being primarily a retail outlet or a venue for sporting, theatrical, or film performances. It must be open to the public, without prior booking, for published periods each year, and should be capable of attracting day visitors or tourists as well as local residents. In addition, the attraction must be a single business, under a single management, so that it is capable of answering the economic questions on revenue, employment etc.”

2

3

Sample and Response

VisitEngland tightened its definition and undertook a major review of attractions used for the 2013 survey.

For example, parish churches and small art galleries with a retail focus were removed from the attractions list.

This removed a number of small sites previously classified as attractions, and we therefore saw a slight shift in the attraction size profile of sites participating in the research in 2013.

Further, whilst country parks continue to be included in the survey findings, they have generally been excluded from the most visited lists on the basis that it is not possible to exclude those who have visited the park in such a way that falls outside our visitor attraction definition.

VisitEngland no longer rigorously monitors attractions openings and closures. The England attractions database was therefore updated in 2015 using Experian business data. This data was de-duplicated against the existing attractions database.

5,596 English visitor attractions were invited to take part in this year’s survey.

1,564 English visitor attractions responded to the survey in 2016, each providing 2015 visitor numbers:

• 812 completed online

• 407 completed by post

• 345 provided data through umbrella organisations

1,459 attractions provided admissions for both 2015 and 2014 and these attractions form the basis of this report’s visitor trend evaluation.

4

CategoryNo. attractions

providing data for 2014 & 2015

Profile of attractions providing data

2015 2014

Country Parks 43 3% 4%

Farms 41 3% 4%

Gardens 81 6% 6%

Historic properties 477 33% 32%

Leisure / theme parks 23 2% 2%

Museums / art galleries 477 33% 33%

Steam / heritage railways 29 2% 2%

Visitor / heritage centres 85 6% 5%

Wildlife attractions / zoos 95 7% 5%

Workplaces 22 2% 2%

Places of worship 47 3% 4%

Other 39 3% 1%

Total 1,459

Response by attraction category

Sample and Response (1)

5

Response by region

Category

No. attns. giving 2014 &

2015 data

Profile of attractions that provided data

2015 2014

Annual Visits

10,000 or less 461 32% 31%

10,001–20,000 197 14% 13%

20,001–50,000 284 19% 19%

50,001–100,000 156 11% 12%

100,001–200,000 147 10% 9%

Over 200,000 214 15% 15%

Total 1,459

Admission

Free 536 37% 38%

Paid 923 63% 62%

Total 1,459

Response by attraction size and admission type

Sample and Response (2)

Category

No. attns. giving 2014

& 2015 data

Profile ofattractions

providing data

2015 2014

North West 143 10% 10%

North East 89 6% 6%

Yorks/Humber 154 11% 10%

East Midlands 134 9% 9%

West Midlands 120 8% 9%

East 184 13% 13%

London 100 7% 7%

South East 281 19% 19%

South West 254 17% 18%

Total 1,459

Headlines (1)

6

Attractions reported a 2% annual increase in total visits to visitor attractions in 2015 (adults and children), a slower rate of growth than reported in each of the past two years.

This slow down in growth was driven by a decrease in visits to London attractions, which fell by -3% in 2015. This decline is consistent with trends in inbound tourism, with expenditure by the overseas holiday market to London falling by -1% in 2015.

Conversely, spend on domestic overnight stays in England increased by +8% and on tourism day visits by +3%, helping to explain the better performance of attractions outside of London.

Weather-wise, 2015 was both notably sunnier – particularly April, June, September and October – but also 10% wetter than usual, driven by the remaining months. Despite this, outdoor attractions faired better than others, especially farms, gardens and leisure/theme parks.

With the notable exceptions of museums / art galleries and workplaces (which both reported falls of less than 0.5% in visitor admissions), all other attraction categories reported increasing visits in 2015. The drop in visits to museums / art galleries was in part driven by declines in visits to some of the larger free museums / art galleries in London.

Schoolchildren admissions saw their second consecutive year of declining by -1%. This is having a knock-on effect on the overall performance of attractions which rely on these schoolchildren visits.

Headlines (2)

7

Gross revenue at attractions was up by +5% in 2015 – typical of growth levels reported over the last nine years. Commensurate with this was a +5% increase in adult admission fees, which was also consistent with previous years. However, once again, child admission charges increased at a higher rate, increasing by an average of +10% (+7% in 2014).

The long term decline in the proportion of attractions reporting increases in marketing expenditure appears to now have been reversed. The proportion of attractions reporting increases in marketing spend fell from 25% to 17% between 2005 and 2012 but recovered to 19% in 2015.

Use of digital communications (other than a website) continued to increase in 2015, with 85% of attractions now using at least one form of digital communications. Facebook and Twitter continue to lead the way, but there was also a notable increase in the provision of e-newsletters in 2015 – 43% now offer.

There has been little change in the provision of other activities and facilities by attractions since 2012. Only provision of corporate events has increased significantly, with 30% of attractions offering these in 2015 compared with 25% in 2012. 64% of attractions now offer a retail shop, 50% a café / restaurant and 58% some form of membership / friends scheme or season ticket.

More sites increased their permanent and seasonal employees than cut head counts in 2015 and attractions anticipate further increases in staff across all levels in 2016. However, museums / art galleries were a notable exception, with more seeing a cut in permanent staff than an increase in 2015. The trend of increasing volunteer staff continued into 2015 and looks set to remain, with 22% of attractions expecting to increase their use of unpaid volunteers in 2016.

2015 UK Weather Summary (source: Met Office)

8

Until mid-November, 2015 saw mostly quiet weather. From late Autumn a succession of Atlantic storms brought exceptional rainfall to the North and West, resulting in severe flooding to many towns and cities. Overall, the year was sunnier than usual (6% above the 1981–2010 average) but also notably wetter, with 10% more rainfall than average.

Winter 2014/15: 2014/15 was relatively benign and quiet, although the North saw storms periodically during this period. It was the sunniest Winter on record, with sunshine 21% above average. However, rainfall was also 11% above average, albeit driven by a particularly wet north and west of the country.

Spring 2015: There was also a north-west / south-east rainfall divide in Spring with the former much wetter. Rainfall was slightly higher than average overall. However, sunshine was also well above average (17%), driven by a very sunny April.

Summer 2015: The summer months were cooler and wetter than either of the previous two summers, although significantly so. June was generally drier, especially in the south, but July and August were both much wetter than average, resulting in 12% more rainfall than average across the summer months.

Autumn 2015: September and October were generally dry and sunny, especially in the north and west meaning that rainfall was 14% below average across the period overall. However, November was much more unsettled with autumnal storms hitting the north and west in particular.

54

88

67

41

43

42

46

56

11

52

81

65

88

67

42

12

31

58

55

57

54

37

89

43

16

30

8

31

4

2

2

3

1

7

5

3

4

4

ALL

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens

Historic houses / castles

Other historic properties

Leisure / theme parks*

Museums / art galleries

Steam / heritage railways*

Visitor / heritage centres

Wildlife attractions / zoos

Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

Open all year round

Regular seasonal closure

Closed for other reason

Attraction opening – by attraction category

9Base: All attractions answering (1,347)

*Base size below 50

Just over half (54%) of attractions remain open all year round. This is consistent with last year (52%).

Country parks, places of worship, wildlife attractions and workplaces are the most likely to remain open year round. However, workplaces are less likely to be open all year round than in 2014.

Both farms and historic houses / castles have seen an increase in the proportion staying open all year round in 2015.

Steam and heritage railways and comfortably the most seasonal.

4% of sites closed for other reasons (such as restoration) during the year, the same proportion as in 2014.

% open all year

in 2014˄

52

93

53

42

25

40

43

59

14

55

80

79

86

60

^Underlined scores indicate 2015 % ‘open all year round’ significantly different from 2014

54

54

45

67

30

51

62

84

42

43

53

27

65

47

34

12

4

3

2

6

5

2

4

4

ALL

Coastal

Rural

Urban

10,000 or less

10,000-20,000

20,000-100,000

Over 100,000

Open all year round

Regular seasonal closure

Closed for other reason

Attraction opening – by destination type & attraction size

10Base: All attractions answering (1,347)

Larger attractions (100,000 visitors or more), which tend to be based in urban areas are more likely to stay open year round.

Only a third of small attractions (defined as having 10,000 visitors a year or less) remain open for the whole year. These sites are less likely to attract sufficient visitors during off-peak periods to warrant staying open.

Visitor admission trends

Visitor admission trends

8

21

-*

3 32

5

3 3

-1

54

2

Annual % change in visits Attractions reported a 2% annual increase in total visits in 2015 (adults and children), somewhat slowing the sector’s return to growth following disruption around the Olympics and Paralympics.

This slow down in growth is driven by a decrease in visits to London attractions, which fell by 3% in 2015.

This decline in London is consistent with trends in inbound tourism (which mainly impacts the London market), with expenditure by the overseas holiday market to London decreasing by 1% in 2015 (source: IPS).

Conversely, overnight stays in England among the domestic market improved, helping to explain the better performance by attractions outside of London. Both overnight trips and spend were up 8% in 2015 (source: GBTS).

Although domestic tourism day visits fell by 4%, expenditure increased by 3% (Source: DVS).

Base: All attractions providing visits data for current and previous year (1,459 in 2015)12

’02 ’03 ’04 ’05 ’06 ’07 ’08 ’09 ’10 ’11 ’12 ’13 ’14 ‘15

Visitor admission trends 2015 – by attraction category

Despite the wetter than average weather for parts of the year, outdoor attractions performed well (there were some notably dry months in the shoulder seasons - April, June, September and October). Farm attractions, gardens and theme parks all increased visits by 7% in 2015, with wildlife attractions and country parks also reporting above average increases.

Places of worship again saw a decline in visits, following a year of substantial visitor number growth in 2013. Visitor numbers are now similar to those observed in 2012.

Visits to the large museums / art galleries sector also declined slightly in 2015, driven by some of the larger free museums and art galleries, especially in London.

Base: All attractions providing visits data for both 2014 and 2015 (1,459)

*Base size below 50

4

7

7

2

2

7

-*

2

3

4

4

-*

2

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

All attractions

average (+2)

2013/14 change

(%)

+5

+10

+5

+5

+3

+3

+3

+4

+10

+6

+1

-5

+10

13

Index of visits to attractions – sectors outperforming market

150153

175

240

191

260

216

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

260

280

19

89

19

90

19

91

19

92

19

93

19

94

19

95

19

96

19

97

19

98

19

99

20

00

20

01

20

02

20

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20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

20

09

20

10

20

11

20

12

20

13

20

14

20

15

TOTAL ENGLAND ATTRACTIONS Museums/art galleries

Country parks* Visitor/heritage centres

Workplaces* Farms*

Gardens

14Base: All attractions providing visits data for both 2014 and 2015 (1,459)

*Base size below 50

Index of visits to attractions – sectors outperforming market

Index Calculation

The charts presented on slides 14 and 16 show the indexed visits trend for each attraction category. The base year for the index is 1989, with the index set at 100 for that year. Annual percentage changes in visits are subsequently applied to this index e.g. visits to museums / art galleries increased +4% between 1989 and 1990, increasing the index for 1990 to 104.

Because the number of attractions responding each year differs, the percentage change between any two years is applied each time to the previous year’s index to take account of varying sample sizes each year.

Operators are asked in each survey year to provide the number of visits for both the survey year and previous year. This enables the trend between any two years to be calculated based on the same attractions.

The chart shows the attraction categories which have shown above average annual visit increases since 1989. Across England attractions as a whole, visits have increased 50% in that time.

Farms have seen the greatest increase in visits, particularly in the last ten years, since the Foot and Mouth outbreak of 2001. Visitor / heritage centres and gardens have also seen very strong increases in that time.

Visits to museums / art galleries overall are now over 50% higher than they were on the introduction of free entry to national museums in 2001. DCMS data on visits to former charging sponsored museums indicate that this increase has been primarily driven by visits to these museums. These figures state that visits to former charging sponsored London museums were up by +151% in the ten years since becoming free and those outside London by +148%.

15

Index of visits to attractions – sectors under performing against market

150

124

116

134131

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

220

240

260

19

89

19

90

19

91

19

92

19

93

19

94

19

95

19

96

19

97

19

98

19

99

20

00

20

01

20

02

20

03

20

04

20

05

20

06

20

07

20

08

20

09

20

10

20

11

20

12

20

13

20

14

20

15

TOTAL ENGLAND ATTRACTIONS Historic properties

Leisure / theme parks* Steam / heritage railways*



*Base size below 50

Index of visits to attractions – sectors under performing against market

Steam/ heritage railways, which had been performing above or in line with the industry average until 2010, saw two years of decline in 2011 and 2012 and a below average +1% increase in 2013. 2014 heralded a turning point, with visitor growth matching the sector average in each of the past two years.

It was also a positive year for wildlife attractions/ zoos, which reported an above average increase in visitor numbers this year (+4%), continuing their positive performance since 2012.

Visits to leisure / theme parks also had a positive year (N.B. Merlin Entertainments attractions do not participate in the survey), with visits up by 7% in 2015. This follows several years of relative stagnation.

Historic properties followed overall sector trends in 2015, with visits up by 2% overall. Their popularity continues to grow following their nadir in 2001.

17

Visitor admission trends 2015 - by region

4

3

2

6

6

3

-3

3

6

2015 saw growth in all regions with the notable exception of London (which declined by 3%). This follows strong post-Olympic growth of 8% in 2013 and a more modest improvement of 2% in 2014.

Visits to London attractions were suppressed by the stagnation of expenditure within the overseas inbound market to London which declined by 1% in 2015. Although domestic visits to London were up – among both day and staying visitors – this did not translate to increases in visits to London attractions.

Instead, it was the East and West Midlands and South West regions that saw the most significant growth, reflecting the fact that these three regions saw the greatest increases in domestic day visit expenditure in 2015 (Source: GBDVS).

+6

+7

+2

+3

+5

+10

+2

+6

+2

2013/14

change (%)

All attractions

average (+2%)

North West

North East

Yorks / Humber

East Midlands

West Midlands

East

London

South East

South West


1

2

4

5

-1

1

4

3

1

Visitor admission trends 2015 – by admission charge, geographic location and size

In 2015 visitor numbers grew at a consistent level between free and paid attractions.

As was the case in 2014, both coastal and rural attractions grew their visits at a rate above the sector average. Mainly driven by the decline in London attractions (but also the wider South East), visits to urban attractions also fell in 2015.

While attractions with fewer than 20,000 visits continue to grow at the slowest rate, these were joined by the largest attractions with over 200,000 visits in 2015, whose visits also only increased by 1%. Again, the large London attractions were largely responsible for these suppressed visits in 2015.

Free

Paid

Coastal

Rural

Urban

20,000 visits or less

20,001-50,000 visits

50,001-200,000 visits

Over 200,000 visits

+4

+4

+7

+5

+3

+1

+3

+5

+4

2013/14

change (%)

All attractions

average (+2%)


Visitor admission trends 2015 – paid and free attractions

Paid attractions reported a +2% increase in visits for 2015. The year saw increases across most categories of paid attractions, with particular growth in farms, gardens and visitor/ heritage centres.

There was also a slight increase in visitor admissions to free attractions in 2015 (+1%). With half of free attractions being museums / art galleries, this category tends to define performance of free attractions overall. Visits to free museums / art galleries declined slightly by -1% in 2015, although strong performances across several other categories compensated for this in 2015. Visits to free historic houses/ castles also declined in 2015 (by -4%).

1

5

10

30

-4

4

17

-1

15

2

1

11

10

2

ALL FREE ATTRACTIONS (536)

Country parks* (33)

Farms* (14)

Gardens* (8)

Historic houses / castles* (23)

Other historic properties* (31)

Leisure / theme parks* (6)

Museums / art galleries (270)

Steam / heritage railways* (3)

Visitor / heritage centres* (44)

Wildlife attractions/zoos* (36)

Workplaces* (10)

Places of worship* (41)

Other* (17)

Free Attractions2013 / 14

change (%)

+4

+5

+11

+2

+13

-1

+3

+3

0

+8

+5

+2

0

+12

2

-6

5

6

2

2

4

3

1

5

4

-2

-6

3

Base: All attractions providing visits data for both 2014 and 2015 (1,459)

N.B. Figures in brackets represent sample sizes of attractions upon which data is based. *Base size below 50 (greyed out)

+3

+4

+13

+6

+4

+5

+3

0

+4

+12

+5

-1

-10

+4

2013 / 14

change (%)Paid Attractions

ALL PAID ATTRACTIONS (923)

Country parks* (10)

Farms* (27)

Gardens (73)

Historic houses / castles (314)

Other historic properties (109)

Leisure / theme parks* (17)

Museums / art galleries (207)

Steam / heritage railways* (26)

Visitor / heritage centres* (41)

Wildlife attractions/zoos (59)

Workplaces* (12)

Places of worship* (6)

Other* (22)

20

Visitor admission trends 2015 – other regional dimensions

6

2

4

6

7

4

-3

2

5

2

6

1

6

5

2

-3

3

6

3

10

4

1

10

2

10

5

3

5

3

6

5

5

-1

-*

11

6

3

-3

-2

4

North West

North East

Yorks / Humber

East Midlands

West Midlands

East

London

South East

South West

All attractions +1% +2% +4% +5% -1%

Free Paid Coastal Rural Urban

% change 2014 / 2015


Small

base

Small

base

n/a

n/a

Small

base

Visitor admission trends 2015 – child visits summary

Family attractions performed at a similar level to attractions as a whole in 2015. Child visits to attractions also increased at a similar rate to admissions overall, with child admissions up 1% in 2015. This contrasts with a much stronger performance by family attractions in 2014, when 7% more children visited attractions than in 2013.

Schoolchildren visits continued their decline, with -1% fewer visits made by schoolchildren in 2015. This was the same level of decline as reported in 2014. This is having a knock-on effect on attractions for which schoolchildren account for over 30% of their visits, whose total admissions declined by -2% in 2015.

4

4

4

-2

1

-1

All attractions

average (+2%)

2013/14

% change

+4

+5

+5

+4

+7

-1

30% or less children

Over 30% children

30% or less

schoolchildren

Over 30%

schoolchildren*

Child admissions

Schoolchildren

admissions

Attractions with…


*Base size below 50

35

34

31

39

31

30

Visitor admission trends 2015 – by visitor origin

Across the attractions sector, overseas visits were up by only 4% in 2015, following growth of 8% in 2014 and 10% in each of the previous two years. However, unlike in 2012 when this increase was driven almost entirely by London, the increases in each of the following years have been much more likely to be shared around the regions.

Yorks/Humber saw the largest decline in overseas visitor admissions compared to 2014 (see page 24), after receiving a boost in that year associated with the Grand Depart of the Tour de France.

Attractions also reported local visitors within day trip distance up by +4% in 2014. This growth was the same as in 2014 and has slowed since 2013 (+8%), but is a positive result, given a decline in day visits (-4% in 2015, Source: DVS).

Up

Similar

Down

Base: All attractions responding ( c.1,200)

Up

Similar

Down

Overseas visitors

Compared with 2014 (%)

Local / day trippers

Compared with 2014 (%)

+4%in visits

+4%in visits

23

-25

-42

-35

-33

-35

-35

-34

-27

-28

34

34

47

27

26

39

39

44

39

28

43

30

33

Visitor admission trends 2015 – overseas visitors by attraction category and region

-19

-24

-20

-47

-42

-22

-29

-28

-18

-21

-17

-30

-21

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

% down % up

Attraction Category: overseas visitors

Overseas visits increased to most types of attractions apart from historic properties, places of worship and leisure/theme parks in 2015.

2014/15

% change

43

33

29

32

33

27

37

38

37

North West

North East

Yorks / Humber

East Midlands

West Midlands

East

London

South East

South West

% down % up

Region: overseas visitors

Continuing the trend from recent years , overseas visitors were venturing across some regions of the country in 2015. The North West East Midlands saw the strongest increases in overseas visits in 2015.

The South West saw another drop in overseas visitors this year, although the -2% decline was less marked than in the previous two years (-6% and -18%).

2014/15

% change


*Base size below 50

23%

5%

11%

4%

24

2%

2%

2%

4%

41%

15%

31%

7%

6%

*%

10%

14%

1%

*%

3%

9%

1%

1%

Visitor admission trends 2015 – overseas visitors by size and admission charge

The increase in overseas visitors was driven primarily by free admission attractions, as was the case in each of the previous three years.

As in 2014, large government funded attractions, with over 200,000 visitors a year, saw the biggest increases in overseas visitor numbers. This is in contrast to 2013, when smaller attractions were more successful in growing international visits.

35

34

28

37

41

49

-26

-35

-33

-36

-28

-24

% down % up

Admission Charge: overseas visitors

2014/15 %

change

Free

Paid

Up to 20k p.a.

20k – 50k p.a.

50k – 200k p.a.

Over 200k p.a.

Size: overseas visitors

% up% down

7%

Base: All attractions responding ( c.1,200)25

5%

4%

5%

1%

1%

38

46

56

37

25

57

40

45

36

40

36

46

34

-29

-32

-35

-23

-22

-34

-32

-33

-25

Visitor admission trends 2015 – local / day trip visitors by attraction category and region

-18

-22

-18

-41

-42

-17

-30

-31

-19

-20

-9

-17

-24

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

% down % up

Attraction Category: local visitors

2014/15

% change

45

45

30

46

45

34

35

38

39

North West

North East

Yorks / Humber

East Midlands

West Midlands

East

London

South East

South West

% down % up

Region: local visitors

2014/15

% change

All attraction categories apart from those categorised as ‘other’ reported growth in the local market in 2015. Growth was particularly strong among visitor/heritage centres and places of worship.

Local visitor numbers held steady or increased across the whole of the UK, with particular growth in the South West.


*Base size below 50

1%

6%

7%

26

2%

9%

1%

2%

14%

1%

6%

7%

8%

4%

20%

9%

10%

4%

2%

8%

2%

2%

19%

2014/15%

change

Visitor admission trends 2015 – local / day trip visitors by size and admission charge

Both free (+4%) and paid admission (+5%) attractions saw similar increases in local visits in 2015.

The smallest attractions managed to turn a slight decline (-1%) in local visitors experienced in 2014 into a slight increase in 2015 (+1%). The largest attractions were most successful at increasing local visitors in 2015, increasing visits from this segment by +6%.

36

41

34

40

45

48

-27

-31

-30

-33

-26

-27

% down % up

Admission Charge: local visitors

Free

Paid

Up to 20k p.a.

20k – 50k p.a.

50k – 200k p.a.

Over 200k p.a.

Size: local visitors

% up% down

Base: All attractions responding ( c.1,200)27

4%

5%

6%

2%

2%

1%

Admission charge and revenue trends

3

1

4

6

7

8

6

11

10

10

13

9

6

7

Adult admission charges 2015

35% of attractions charging admission, charge £5 or less for entry – this has been slowly declining in recent years (43% in 2012, 41% in 2013 and 39% in 2014).

The most notable shift this year has been in the proportion of paid admission attractions charging over £10. This has increased from 16% in 2014 to 21% in 2015.

The average entry charge stands at £8.21 in 2015.

The average child admission charge amongst those sites charging is £5.45. A quarter of charging sites charge over £5 for child entry, with 7% charging over £10.00.

Over £30.00

£20.01 - £30.00

£15.01 - £20.00

£12.01 - £15.00

£10.01 - £12.00

£9.01 - £10.00

£8.01 - £9.00

£7.01 - £8.00

£6.01 - £7.00

£5.01 - £6.00

£4.01 - £5.00

£3.01 - £4.00

£2.01 - £3.00

£2.00 or less

Base: Attractions charging for admission in 2015 (908)

%

29

4

5

6

6

5

4

4

4

4

3

1

5

5

*

Adult admission charge trends 2015 – by attraction category

Adult and child entrance fees both increased in 2015, with fairly consistent increases across categories.

The average increase in adult admission fees was 4% – consistent with increases during the previous years, with increases of 4% (2014), 4% (2013), 4% (2012), 5% (2011), 5% (2010) and 4% (2009). This remains significantly above the rate of inflation.

Average child admission charges increased by more - 10% on average. This rate of increase is growing year-on-year (7% in 2014, 4% in 2013, 3% in 2012). Historic properties increased their child admission charges the most – by 15% in 2015.

Leisure/ theme parks (£18.07) and steam/ heritage railways (£9.21) have the highest average admission prices. The figure for country parks is driven by a single multi-attraction operator who classify their attractions as country parks.

ALL ATTRACTIONS

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens






Visitor / heritage centres*

Wildlife attractions / zoos*

Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

Base: Attractions providing admission charge data for both 2014 and 2015 (908)

*Base size below 50

Average

2015

charge

% average increase

in adult charge

versus 2014

£8.21

£26.35

£7.60

£7.50

£8.11

£6.55

£18.07

£5.89

£9.21

£6.01

£8.74

£8.69

£9.00

£8.66

+4

+4

+5

+3

+3

+5

+5

+6

+2

+5

+3

+5

+3

+4

2013/14

change

(%)

30

3

5

5

5

6

4

5

3

5

Adult admission charge trends 2015 – by region

London charging attractions remain the most expensive (at £11.15 on average), with this gap compared with other regions opening again after narrowing in 2014.

Only attractions in the East of England charge an average adult admission of below £7, although these attractions have been increasing their prices most rapidly in recent years (+4% in 2015, +5% in 2014, +5% in 2013 and +6% in 2012).

Other regions increased their adult admission charges by between +3% and +6% in 2015, with West Midlands attractions the most bullish.

North West

North East*

Yorks / Humber

East Midlands

West Midlands

East

London*

South East

South West

Base: All attractions providing admission charge data for both 2014 and 2015 (908)

*Base size below 50

Average

2015 charge

All attractions

average (4%)

£8.22

£7.20

£7.22

£7.21

£8.62

£6.78

£11.15

£9.01

£8.34

+4

+4

+5

+3

+3

+5

+3

+4

+4

2013/14

change (%)

31

% change in adult admission charge

4

4

5

4

5

Adult admission charge trends 2015 – by attraction size

Site admission charges increase in line with the number of visitors attracted, with those bringing in more than 200,000 visitors a year charging over £13 on average, vs. an average entrance fee of a little under £6 for attractions with 20,000 visitors or fewer.

There is little variation in entrance price inflation by attraction size, although the largest sites (those with over 200,000 visitors) continue to be more bullish, increasing adult charges by +5% in 2015.

20,000 or less p.a.

20,001 – 50,000 p.a.

50,001 – 100,000 p.a.

100,001 – 200,000 p.a.

Over 200,000 p.a.


Average

2015 chargeAll attractions

average (4%)

£5.92

£8.41

£9.62

£10.00

£13.62

+4

+4

+3

+3

+5

2013/14

change (%)


Annual visits

32

4

4

4

5

4

4

3

Adult admission charge trends 2015 – by geographic location and child admissions

Change in admission pricing is consistent across the different types of areas, and between sites attracting families/ non-family and domestic/ overseas audiences.

Sites with a high proportion of overseas visitors and children tend to set their entrance fees higher, with coastal attractions charging the least.

Coastal

Rural

Urban

30% or less child visits

Over 30% child visits

30% or less overseas visits

Over 30% overseas visits*


*Base size below 50

Average 2015

charge

£6.36

£8.91

£7.53

£7.00

£8.07

£8.12

£10.53

2013/14

change (%)All attractions

average (4%)

Attractions with…

+5

+4

+4

+5

+4

+4

+4

33


5 5

8

5 5

1

5 5 5

200720082009201020112012201320142015

Gross revenue trend

Gross revenue at attractions was up by +5% in 2015, following the general trend over the last eight years (with exceptions in 2009 and 2012).

Almost half (46%) of attractions reported an increase in gross revenue in 2015 compared with only 19% reporting a decrease.

Revenue tends been correlated with change in adult admission prices, with larger price increases generating more revenue. Indeed, in 2015 those attractions whose gross revenue increased put up their admission charges by an average of 5% whereas those whose gross revenue decreased only put their admission charges up by 3%.

% change in gross revenue

Base: All attractions responding (1,061)34

5

4

3

Gross revenue up

Gross revenue similar

Gross revenue down

% change adult admission charges

3

11

5

1

3

7

7

3

13

7

1

2

1

Gross revenue trend 2015 – by attraction category

All categories managed to increase gross revenue in 2015, although there was notable variation.

Farm attractions and visitor/heritage centres reported the strongest increases in gross revenue (up by 11% and 13% respectively).

Gross revenue increases were weaker among historic properties, steam/heritage railways, workplaces and places of worship.

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

+6

+7

+6

+4

+6

+10

+4

+6

+8

+8

+1

+3

+18

2013/14 %

changeAll attractions (+5%)

35Base: All attractions responding (1,061)

*Base size below 50

Gross revenue trend 2015 – by region

Changes in gross revenue did not vary significantly by region. The strongest increases in revenue were reported by South East attractions (7%) and weakest in the North West (3%). Commensurate with this, the North West also reported the lowest increases in adult admission charges in 2015.

3

4

4

4

6

6

5

7

4

North West

North East

Yorks / Humber

East Mids

West Mids

East

London

South East

South West

Base: All attractions responding (1,061)36

+8

+5

+8

+3

+4

+3

+7

+5

+5

2013/14 %


5

5

8

5

4

5

3

7

6

Gross revenue trend 2015 – by admission charge, destination type and visit volume

Revenues grew in 2015 across all sizes of category, destination types and free versus charging attractions.

Revenue growth was no more significant at large attractions with over 200,000 visitors than smaller attractions this year, again reflecting the smaller increases in visitor admissions that this larger size of attraction experienced this year.

Coastal attractions reported the strongest revenue gains in 2015, a reversal of fortune on 2014 when they reported the weakest increases. In line with the fall in visitor admissions, gross revenue to urban attractions was weakest in 2015.

+5

+6

+3

+6

+5

+4

+6

+6

+7

2013/14 %


Free

Paid

Up to 20k p.a.

20k – 50k p.a.

50k – 200k p.a.

Over 200k p.a.

Admission Charge

Annual visit volume

37Base: All attractions responding (1,061)

Coastal

Rural

Urban

Destination type

Marketing and communications trends

Marketing expenditure trend

Between 2005 and 2012, the proportion of attractions reporting increases in marketing expenditure had been in gradual decline, with nearly as many attractions decreasing their marketing investment as there are increasing.

This decline seems to have not only halted for now, but is seeing a slight reversal. Only 9% of attractions reported a decline in marketing expenditure in 2015 compared with 16% back in 2012.

Marketing expenditure of large attractions (with over 200,000 visitors) has again been polarised in 2015 – this category is the joint most likely to have increased marketing expenditure, and also the most likely to have spent less on marketing in 2015. It is possible that this may reflect a shift in marketing activity at some attractions, with more emphasis placed on cheaper digital marketing platforms.

19

18

18

17

19

20

21

21

22

24

25

17

18

23

23

-9

-11

-12

-16

-13

-14

-11

-11

-12

-11

-10

-9

-9

-8

-14

20,000 visits or less

20,001-50,000 visits

50,001-200,000 visits

Over 200,000 visits

% down % up

% down % up2015

Base: Attractions answering marketing question (1,276)39

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

Marketing expenditure trends 2015 –by attraction category

15

22

27

13

18

39

19

32

27

21

4

14

24

-18

-10

-8

-7

-5

-9

-11

-18

-10

-5

-13

-5

-21

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

% down

(All attractions 9%)% up

(All attractions 19%)

As in 2014, leisure/ theme parks are the most likely to have increased their marketing spend, with four in ten attractions doing so and only one in ten reducing spend. This category also experienced above average growth in both visitor numbers and gross revenue in 2015.

Farm attractions and gardens were also more likely than the sector average to increase their marketing expenditure in 2015. This also seems to have fed through into a more positive performance in terms of visitor admissions and has allowed these attraction categories to increase admission charges beyond the sector average (bothy increasing by 6% in 2015).

Only country parks and workplaces reported a net reduction in marketing spend (where the proportion decreasing exceeded the proportion increasing marketing spend).

40Base: Attractions answering marketing question (1,276)

*Base size below 50

Marketing expenditure trends 2015 – by region and admission charge

As reported in recent years, paid attractions continue to be more likely to increase their marketing expenditure than free attractions. However, they are no less likely to have reduced marketing spending.

London attractions have been most likely to increase marketing spend in 2015. However, this has not translated into increased visitor admissions this year.

-14

-11

-6

-10

-12

-8

-7

-8

-10

-10

-9

16

12

21

17

17

17

24

21

22

15

22

North West

North East

Yorks / Humber

East Midlands

West Midlands

East

London

South East

South West

Free

Paid

% down % up

41Base: Attractions answering marketing question (1,276)

% down

(All attractions 9%)% up

(All attractions 19%)

Impact of marketing expenditure - summary

As in previous years, attractions increasing their marketing expenditure in 2015 were more likely to report increases in visitor numbers and gross revenue.

Visitor admissions increased by +7% among those increasing their marketing spend compared with only +3% amongst those who cut back on marketing, with this pattern seen in both local and overseas visits.

The difference in gross revenue between sites expanding or reducing their marketing is even more marked; it grew by +15% amongst those increasing their marketing spend but increased by only +2% amongst attractions reducing their marketing spend.

Marketing spend in 2015

2014 / 15 change in… Up Down

Total visitor admissions +7% +3%

Local visits +10% +4%

Overseas visits +1% -3%

Gross revenue +15% +2%

42

Website and online booking facilities

Almost all attractions (93%) now have a website. Only the very smallest attractions with less than 10,000 visits per annum are significantly less likely to have a website (86%). Free attractions are also still less likely to offer a website.

In category terms, only workplaces and visitor/heritage centres have less than 90% of their attractions offering a website (see page 45).

Almost a third of attractions offered an online booking facility for tickets / events in 2015, up from 25% in 2014 and 21% in 2013. This varies significantly by attraction size, with over half (59%) of attractions reporting visits of over 200,000 per annum offering this facility compared with just 10% of those with visits of less than 10,000 per annum.

Online booking is most likely to be offered within the leisure / theme park and steam / heritage railway sectors (see page 45).

93

29

% offeredWebsite Online

Booking

Under 10k visits p.a. 86 10

10k - 20k visits p.a. 96 25

20k - 100k visits p.a. 97 31

100k - 200k visits p.a. 99 46

Over 200k visits p.a. 98 59

Free attractions 90 22

Paid attractions 96 34

% offered in 2015

Base: All answering digital communications question (1,350)43

Website

Online booking facility (tickets, events)

83 77

69 62

57 51

31 31

28 19

27 19

16 11

18 18

8 13

11 10

Other digital communications offered

Use of digital communications (other than a website) continued to increase in 2015, albeit at a slower pace, with 85% of attractions now using at least one form of digital communications.

Facebook and Twitter remain the most popular platforms and continue to grow significantly year-on-year.

In 2015, the growth of e-newsletter provision has perhaps been the most noteworthy, with almost half of attractions now offering this form of communications. Growth in the use of Instagram/Pinterest has also been higher than average, albeit at lower absolute levels. However, the increase in use of YouTube and Online blogs has slowed this year.

Provision of mobile apps more than doubled between 2012 and 2013, but developments in this area seem to have stalled in the past couple of years.

85

78

67

43

32

32

22

20

12

10

% offeredNumber of visits p.a

20k or less 20k-100k Over 100k

ANY 75 94 97

Facebook page 65 88 94

Twitter account 51 76 89

E-newsletter 31 48 65

YouTube 19 36 53

Online blogs 21 35 52

Mobile apps 13 24 30

Instagram/Pinterest 10 25 45

Other social media 5 8 21

Mobile website 6 15 20

% offered in 2015


ANY

Facebook page

Twitter account

E-newsletter

YouTube

Online blogs

Instagram/Pinterest

Mobile apps

Mobile website

Other social media

%‘13%‘14

Digital communications offered in 2015 – by attraction category

% offeringCountryParks

Farms GardensHistoric houses /castles

Other historic

properties

Leisure / theme

parks

Museums / art

galleries

Steam / heritage railways

Visitor /heritage centres

Wildlife / zoos

Work-places

Places of

WorshipOther

ANY 79 100 86 91 80 96 84 93 84 90 88 65 83

Facebook 74 95 75 84 78 96 77 93 78 67 67 58 78

Twitter account

50 76 75 79 70 67 65 72 57 61 58 42 60

E-newsletter 31 51 46 58 44 58 41 34 30 36 25 38 28

YouTube 14 32 15 46 43 58 29 34 17 30 4 21 28

Online blogs 17 17 26 48 39 33 28 24 13 51 17 10 18

Instagram/ Pinterest

10 37 31 22 14 38 26 17 14 16 21 8 30

Mobile apps 12 2 22 48 39 17 8 17 11 8 8 10 10

Mobile website

7 17 15 10 10 29 8 10 6 40 8 2 28

Other socialmedia

10 12 8 9 6 21 12 14 7 13 - - 13

WEBSITE 90 98 97 97 90 96 94 100 88 91 83 90 95

ONLINE BOOKING

36 39 28 27 23 71 27 69 19 32 42 19 43


Impact of digital communications - summary

Those attractions offering some form of digital communications platform (excluding just a website or online booking facility) in 2015 reported stronger performance across several dimensions.

Total visitor admissions increased by +3% among those offering digital communications but by less than 0.5% among those not offering these forms of communication.

For child admissions the contrast is even more pronounced. Whilst child admissions increased by +2% among those offering digital communications, they declined by -11% among those who did not.

Gross revenue increased by +6% amongst those offering digital communications, but by only +2% amongst sites not offering.

The impact was also a positive one in terms of attracting local visitors, this dimension increasing by +5% among those with a digital offering but only by less than 0.5% among those without one.

Offer any digital communications

(exc. website / online booking)?

2014 / 15 change in… Yes No

Total visitor admissions +3% +*%

Children admissions +2% -11%

Local visits +5% +*%

Overseas visits +4% +7%


46

Other activities offered by attractions

Other activities offered by attractions in 2015

Two thirds of both free and charging attractions now provide a retail shop.

Membership schemes are offered by well over half of all attractions and three-quarters of all charging attractions.

Public events are also now common, with over half of attractions offering at least one public event in 2015.

Catering facilities are also made available by half of attractions, although these are more common among charging (56%) than free (41%) attractions.

Conversely, temporary exhibitions are offered by over half (55%) of free attractions but only a third (37%) of charging attractions.

92

64

58

54

50

45

40

35

30

21

8

95

65

74

55

56

37

42

35

31

19

11

89

63

34

53

41

55

37

36

29

23

3

ANY

Retail shop

Membership scheme

Public events

Café/ restaurant

Temporary exhibitions

Activity/ play area for children

Public venue hire

Corporate events

Late or unusual opening hours

Multi-attraction pass

Total

Charging Attractions

Free Attractions

% offered in 2015

Base: All answering additional activities question (1,336)48

49

Other activities offered – 2015 vs. 2012

Base: All answering additional activities question (1,336)

64

58

54

50

45

40

35

30

21

8

Retail shop

Membership scheme

Public events

Café/ restaurant

Temporaryexhibitions

Activity/ play areafor children

Public venue hire

Corporate events

Late or unusualopening hours


68

56

57

51

44

39

38

25

Retail shop

Membership scheme

Public events

Café/ restaurant

Temporaryexhibitions

Activity/ play areafor children

Public venue hire

Corporate events

Late or unusualopening hours


2015 (%)2012 (%)

Not asked for 2012

Not asked for 2012

The proportions of attractions offering each of these additional activities has remained fairly similar since the last time that this question was asked in 2012. The one area that has seen notable growth is corporate events, which was offered by only 25% of attractions in 2012 but 30% in 2015.

Other activities offered in 2015 – by attraction category

There is significant variation between attraction categories in terms of the other activities they offer.

For example, catering facilities are much more likely to be offered by leisure/them parks, farms and steam/heritage railways than by other attraction categories.

Leisure/ theme parks*

Farms*

Steam/ heritage railways*


Museums/ art galleries



Country parks*


Gardens

Places of worship*

Workplaces*

Other*

0% 50%

50

100%

100%

97%

95%

94%

93%

91%

90%

87%

87%

85%

79%

79%

% ANY

Corporate events

Activity/play area for children Temporary exhibitions

Membership scheme Public venue hire

Café/ restaurant

100%75%


*Base size below 50


Public events

Late/ unusual opening hours

Retail shop

25%

Other activities offered by attractions in 2015 – by visitor volume

There is a strong relationship between provision of other activities and the annual visitor volume of attractions. Provision of these other activities tends to drop off most significantly once an attractions attracts fewer than 10,000 visitors per annum.

Visit Volume

% offeringUnder 10k

10k-20k

20k-50k

50k-100k

Over 100k

ANY (2015) 83 95 95 98 99

Retail shop 43 60 71 79 86

Membership scheme 42 60 62 71 71

Public events 39 56 55 65 70

Café/ restaurant 21 41 52 75 86

Temporary exhibitions 39 38 43 46 59

Activity/ play area for children 17 31 43 60 69

Public venue hire 19 30 38 39 61

Corporate events 12 32 29 40 53

Late or unusual opening hours 14 14 18 22 37

Multi-attraction pass 2 9 9 11 13

51Base: All answering additional activities question (1,336)

Other activities offered by attractions in 2015 – by region

Region (%)

% offering NW NE Y+H EM WM EAST LON SE SW

ANY 96 88 92 92 89 92 98 92 92

Retail shop 69 49 65 67 61 57 75 66 65

Membership schemes 60 60 50 52 67 56 59 58 61

Public events 51 67 55 47 53 56 72 49 52

Café/ restaurant 60 44 43 54 57 40 52 51 51

Temporary exhibitions 59 45 45 44 37 43 56 38 45

Activity/ play area for children 46 39 40 38 48 33 35 36 46

Public venue hire 46 36 37 37 39 27 51 32 30

Corporate events 39 31 32 27 39 26 52 26 23

Late or unusual opening hours 21 23 16 13 22 22 31 19 23

Multi-attraction pass 10 3 14 8 3 2 38 2 8

52

London leads the way for provision of retail shops, public events, public venue hire, late or unusual opening hours and corporate venue hire as well as offering multi-attraction passes (primarily the London Pass).


Impact of other activities - summary

In terms of increasing overall visits in 2015, there is little discernible difference between those which offer other activities and those which do not. Visitor admissions increased by +3% among those who offered at least one of these activities in 2015 and +2% among those that offered none. There was also little difference in terms of gross revenue.

However, those that offered these additional activities did perform better in terms of attracting both child visitors and local visitors. Child visitors increased by +5% among those offering other activities but decreased by -8% among those that did not offer any.

Other activities offered?

2014 / 15 change in… Yes No

Total visitor admissions +3% +2%

Child admissions +2% -8%

Local visits +5% 0%


53

Employment trends

12

10

21

10

10

22

Employment trends

Proportions of attractions employing any of the following employees in 2015:

• 87% permanent

• 66% seasonal

• 85% unpaid volunteers

The trend of increasing voluntary workers continued into 2015 and looks set to remain, with 22% of attractions expecting to increase their use of unpaid volunteers in 2016 (although this is slightly down from the 28% reported in 2014).

More attractions increased their permanent and seasonal employees than cut head counts in 2015 and attractions anticipate further increases in both permanent and seasonal staff in 2016.

-7

-3

-4

-5

-3

-2

Permanent

Seasonal

Unpaid volunteers

% down % up

% down % up

Anticipated change in employees in 2016

Change in employees since 2014

Base: All answering employment questions

55

Permanent

Seasonal

Unpaid volunteers

7

29

17

10

13

32

8

8

8

24

9

18

23

8

14

-5

-7

-9

-10

Under 20k visits

20k-50k visits

50k-200k visits

Over 200k visits

98

100

95

97

86

100

79

73

67

94

91

87

88

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

Employment trends – Permanent employees summary (2014-2015)

% down % up

% up

2014 to 2015

Free

Paid

-24

-7

-2

-5

-1

-5

-10

-4

-3

-6

-14

-5

-5

-10

-5

% down

% down % up

7

13

16

24

80

91

% any Perm in

2015

73

98

100

99

Although there are more attractions increasing than decreasing full-time permanent staff overall, this masks some differences by type of attraction.

Farms continue to boost their permanent staff count. In 2014-15 almost a third of farm attractions increased permanent staff and only 7% reduced staff. Leisure/theme parks and wildlife attractions were also much more likely to increase permanent staff this year. However, museums and art galleries, as in 2013-14, were more likely to reduce permanent staff.

Permanent staff continue to reduce at free attractions, but numbers have increased in the charging attractions category.

The larger the attraction the more likely they are to increase permanent staff in 2015. 24% of attractions with over 200k visits increased these staff members compared with only 7% of attractions with fewer than 20k visits.

% any Perm

in 2015

% any Perm

in 20152014 to 2015

56Base: All answering employment questions

*Base size below 50

15

31

13

10

6

36

7

16

11

11

14

11

14

9

11

-5

-7

-10

-11

Under 20k visits

20k-50k visits

50k-200k visits

Over 200k visits

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

Employment trends – Permanent employees summary (2016 predictions)

% down % up

% up

2016 predictions

Free

Paid

-13

-5

-2

-4

-1

-5

-8

-4

-1

-4

-5

-3

-3

-7

-4

% down

% down % up

6

9

13

23

2016 predictions

Large, charging attractions (with over 200,000 visitors) are the most likely to be anticipating increases in permanent staff in 2016.

Again, farms and leisure/theme parks are most likely to feel that they will take on more permanent staff in 2016.

Museums & art galleries is the only category more likely to anticipate cuts in permanent staff than increases, although country parks also have a notable proportion of attractions predicting a cut in permanent staff.


*Base size below 50

13

19

25

9

9

43

6

8

7

18

0

17

5

6

12

-2

-4

-2

-4

Under 20k visits

20k-50k visits

50k-200k visits

Over 200k visits

67

88

87

88

71

96

45

48

45

74

62

66

76

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

Employment trends – Seasonal employees summary (2014-2015)

% down % up

% up

2014 to 2015

Free

Paid

-3

-5

0

-2

-2

-4

-2

0

0

-3

-14

-3

-8

-2

-3

% down

% down % up

4

13

15

20

45

78

% any Seas in

2015

52

72

77

85

Although there are more attractions increasing than decreasing seasonal staff overall, this also masks some differences by type of attraction.

Leisure/theme parks were much more likely to take on more seasonal staff in 2015, with 43% taking on more and only 4% taking on fewer. There were also strong increases in seasonal staff among gardens, farms, wildlife attractions and places of worship.

Conversely, workplaces were more likely to cut back on seasonal staff.

Again, charging attractions were more likely to take on additional seasonal staff than free attractions and larger attractions with over 200k visits more likely to take additional seasonal staff than smaller attractions in 2015.

% any Seas

in 2015

% any Seas

in 20152014 to 2015


*Base size below 50

19

21

18

10

7

30

5

13

9

17

5

9

16

7

11

-2

-3

-3

-6

Under 20k visits

20k-50k visits

50k-200k visits

Over 200k visits

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

Employment trends – Seasonal employees summary (2016 predictions)

% down % up

% up

2016 predictions

Free

Paid

-8

-10

-2

-3

-1

-9

-2

0

-3

-2

-5

0

-3

-3

-3

% down

% down % up

5

13

11

18

2016 predictions

Leisure/theme parks are again most bullish about taking on additional seasonal staff in 2016, with 30% predicting that they will increase their staff levels. Only workplaces feel that they are as likely to cut as take on additional seasonal staff.

Charging attractions and those with over 200k visits per annum are also more likely to feel that they will take on additional seasonal staff in 2016.


*Base size below 50

Under 20k visits

20k-50k visits

50k-200k visits

Over 200k visits

-5

-4

-3

-5

21

17

27

15

16

10

22

31

31

34

9

22

9

24

18

77

69

79

89

86

29

89

97

85

87

45

93

58

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

Employment trends – unpaid volunteers summary (2014 to 2015)

% down % up

% up

2014 to 2015

Free

Paid

-8

-5

-3

-5

-5

-5

-4

0

-6

-1

-9

-4

-3

-5

-4

% down

% down % up

86

84

% any volunteers

in 2015

% any volunteers

in 2015

84

84

89

82

% any

volunteers

in 20152014 to 2015


*Base size below 50

Increases in volunteers in 2015 were more likely to be reported by wildlife attractions, steam/heritage railways, visitor/heritage centres and gardens. Again, workplaces were as likely to report cuts to volunteers as increases.

Free attractions were most likely to have taken on additional volunteers.

The larger the attraction the more likely they were to take on additional volunteers in 2015.

16

20

28

30

31

19

25

20

16

10

23

34

32

29

18

15

14

27

19

-3

-2

-2

-1

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens








Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

Employment trends – unpaid volunteers summary (2016 predictions)

% down % up

% up

2015 predictions

Free

Paid

0

-5

0

-2

-1

0

-3

0

-4

0

-5

0

-3

-3

-2

% down

Under 20k visits

20k-50k visits

50k-200k visits

Over 200k visits

% down % up

19

22

25

29

Predictions for taking on more volunteers in 2016 reflect the reported patterns of behaviour in 2015. So wildlife attractions, steam/heritage railways, visitor/heritage centres and country parks all showing strong propensity to take on more volunteers in 2016.

Prediction for increases in unpaid volunteers is also highest amongst free attractions and the larger attractions.

2015 predictions


*Base size below 50

Attracting visitors to the area

Attracting visitors to the area

The past three years have see a question added to the Visits to Visitor Attractions survey to try to tease out the ‘pull’ of attractions to an area.

‘Thinking just about your visitors who are staying away from home in the area, what percentage of these visitors would you estimate decided to visit the area mainly because of your attraction?‘

These results are unaudited, and we don’t know what sites based this information on – whether it is data from other surveys they run, or simply ‘gut feel’.

64

17

31

14

20

13

6

None

1-5%

6-10%

11-20%

21-50%

Over 50%

Attracting visitors to the area (2015)

Around five in six sites believe they serve to attract at least some non-local visitors to the area.

On average, attractions draw in 15% of their visitors to the area (see slide 65).

This calculation takes into account the actual number of non-local visitors to each site, and sites’ estimations of what percentage of their non-local visitors decided to visit the area mainly because of their attraction.

Base: All attractions responding (1,016)

Visitors staying in the area as a

result of the attraction (%)

17

37

14

10

15

7

% in

2014

17

40

12

10

13

8

% in

2013

65

15

22

13

12

14

15

16

13

27

13

16

23

19

14

ALL

Country parks*

Farms*

Gardens*







Wildlife attractions / zoos*

Workplaces*

Places of worship*

Other*

Attracting visitors to the area – by attraction type (2015)


*Base size below 50

Visitors staying in the area as a

result of the attraction (average 15%)

Steam/heritage railways, workplaces and country parks seemingly have the biggest draw in 2015, with around a quarter of visitors thought to be visiting the area in order to experience these attractions.

66

15

18

14

14

11

15

17

26

ALL

Coastal

Rural

Urban

Under 20k visitors

20k to 50k visitors

50k to 200k visitors

Over 200k visitors

Attracting visitors to the area – by destination type & attraction size (2015)

As we would expect, the larger the attraction, the greater its gravitational pull, with our estimations suggesting that sites with over 200,000 visitors a year attract around one in four visitors to the area.

There is little difference in the performance of coastal, rural and urban attractions on this basis, although coastal attractions are slightly more likely to pull in visitors to an area than others.


Visitors staying in the area as a result

of the attraction (average 15%)

67

Questionnaire

visitor attraction trends in england 2015...attractions reported a 2% annual increase in total...

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